Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses
Best Practices > Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses
Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses
Nov 18, 2014 | Higher Education Mental Health Alliance
Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses, created by the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA), is intended to provide guidance for colleges and universities for responding to a suicide on campus. To create the Guide, literature on suicide postvention in college settings was reviewed and consolidated. Input from leading college mental health and campus suicide prevention experts was gathered as well. The document reflects consensus from all the HEMHA partner organizations and a panel of advisors.
Suicide postvention efforts address the need for predetermined strategies to effectively and sensitively respond to campus deaths after they occur and also contribute to improved prevention efforts. This resource defines specific areas of consideration and planning and offers suggestions for best practices. Planning and implementation of postvention efforts rely heavily on using an interdisciplinary approach that utilizes the skills and resources of administrators, practitioners and the greater campus community. These disciplines will ideally collaborate in the postvention planning and coordination, implementation of postvention efforts, clinical services, communication efforts, and decisions about holding memorials and other related events with the goal of helping the community return to a normal routine.
